Nativity Scene Glossary

A

Argile (clay)

What most santons are made of. In Provence, makers traditionally use a red clay rich in iron, which turns the brick color typical of biscuit when fired. It’s pressed into molds, air-dried, then fired. Working the clay.

Ange Gloria (Gloria angel)

The angel hanging above the stable, usually holding a banner that reads Gloria in excelsis Deo (“Glory to God in the highest”). It’s almost always part of a Provençal nativity, and it’s one of the few santons that doesn’t stand on the ground.

Admirabile signum

“Wonderful sign”: Pope Francis’s apostolic letter on the meaning of the nativity scene, signed at Greccio on December 1, 2019. The nativity scene according to the Church.

Avent (Advent)

The four weeks before Christmas, starting on the fourth Sunday before December 25. A time of waiting: the nativity goes up, but the manger stays empty until the night of the 24th. When to set up the nativity.

B

Biscuit

Clay that has been fired once and not painted or glazed (what American potters call bisque). A “biscuit santon” is a fired santon left unpainted, showing the natural color of the clay. Some workshops specialize in them.

Boumian

The Romani traveler of the Provençal nativity (the old word was “Bohemian”), often set apart from the village, sometimes with a knife or a hen under his arm. A complicated character: in the 19th-century pastorales he’s viewed with suspicion, but he redeems himself in the end.

Blé de la Sainte-Barbe (Saint Barbara’s wheat)

Three saucers of wheat (or lentils) planted on December 4, Saint Barbara’s Day, and placed in the nativity at Christmas. Tradition says the sprouts predict the coming year: if they grow straight and green, it’s a good sign. See nativity greenery.

Bambinelli

Italian for “little babies”: the Baby Jesus figures that Roman children bring to St. Peter’s Square during Advent for the pope to bless. Many American parishes now keep the custom on Bambinelli Sunday. The blessing of the Baby Jesus figures.

C

Caganer

A little Catalan figure crouching to relieve himself, hidden somewhere in the nativity. He’s not a modern prank: he goes back at least to the 17th century in Catalonia and is said to bring fertility to the soil. Finding him is a game for kids.

Crèche (nativity scene)

Originally, the manger the Baby Jesus is laid in, from the late Latin cripia (the same root as the English “crib”). Later it came to mean the whole scene, then the scenery around it too. In Italian it’s presepe, in Spanish belén or nacimiento, in Catalan pessebre.

Crèche parlante (talking crèche)

A Provençal show in which moving figures, or actors, act out the Nativity in Provençal. The direct ancestor of the pastorale.

Chandeleur (Candlemas)

The feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, February 2, forty days after Christmas. In Provence, it’s the day the nativity is put away.

D

Dégourdi (first low firing)

A first firing at a low temperature, which hardens the piece without turning it glassy. A potter’s term you’ll still hear in santon workshops.

E

Engobe (slip)

Liquid colored clay brushed onto an unfired or lightly fired piece to give it a base color before decorating. Rarely used on Provençal santons, which are painted with gouache, but common on other pottery.

Étable (stable)

The main building of the nativity. In the Provençal tradition it’s often a sheep shed or a simple shed with a tile roof, rather than the half-timbered stable of Northern Europe. Choosing the building is the first style decision you make; see nativity scene styles.

Épiphanie (Epiphany)

Greek for “appearance” or “revelation”: the feast of the Wise Men, January 6, celebrated in France, as in the United States, on the Sunday between January 2 and 8. That’s when the Wise Men reach the stable. The Magi.

F

Foire aux santons (santon fair)

A seasonal market selling santons. Marseille’s, first on the Canebière and later by the Old Port, dates back to 1803 and is still the best known; there are fairs in many towns in Provence and beyond. Meeting the studios.

G

Greccio

A village in the Rieti valley in central Italy, where on Christmas night 1223 Francis of Assisi set up a manger with a live ox and donkey. It’s seen as the starting point of the nativity scene as we know it. The full history. Greccio, 1223.

Gaudete

Latin for “rejoice”: the name of the Third Sunday of Advent, from the first word of that day’s opening chant at Mass. It’s the usual day for blessing Baby Jesus figures.

I

Incarnation

The belief that the Son of God became man. It’s what the nativity scene shows: God born as a baby, in Bethlehem, into a poor family. The nativity scene according to the Church.

J

Jean-Louis Lagnel (1764–1822)

A Marseille figure maker credited with the affordable molded clay santon, around 1800, in the years after the French Revolution had closed the churches. His cheap figures helped bring the nativity into ordinary homes.

L

Liège (cork)

Bark from the cork oak, and the best material there is for nativity scenery: light and textured, it looks like rock and old stone without any aging work. Cut it with a utility knife and glue it with white glue. See the stone wall.

Lavandière (washerwoman)

A classic santon of the Provençal village, kneeling at the washhouse. She’s often the reason the nativity has water in it; see the flowing fountain.

M

Moule (mold)

Usually plaster, in two halves (a “two-part mold”). The santon maker presses clay into each half, joins them, cleans up the seam, then sharpens the details by hand. Molds wear out: figures made late in a mold’s life have softer details than the first ones.

Mousse stabilisée (preserved moss)

Real moss treated with glycerin, so it stays soft and keeps its color with no moisture or mold. Unlike fresh moss from the woods, it doesn’t rot or attract bugs. Why it matters.

N

Nacimiento

The word for the nativity scene in Latin America and much of the Spanish-speaking world, including Mexican American homes in the U.S. (also pesebre, or belén in Spain). Local traditions often add their own plants, animals and characters.

Nativité (Nativity)

The birth of Jesus, and also any picture or model of the scene. It’s told in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew: the Nativity accounts.

P

Pastorale

A folk play in Provençal about the villagers’ journey to the stable. The Pastorale Maurel, written in Marseille in 1844, is the most performed version. It made several characters famous (Pistachié, the blind man and his son), though many village santons already existed before it.

Pastrage

A Provençal Christmas Eve ceremony in which shepherds offer a lamb at Midnight Mass, often carried in a little flower-decked cart pulled by a ram. Still done in several villages.

Presepe

Italian for nativity scene. The presepe napoletano is a specific, spectacular style that reached its peak in the 18th century: posable figures, real fabric clothes, scenery full of ruins and market scenes. The Neapolitan style.

Puce (flea)

The smallest common santon size, about 1 inch (2 to 3 cm). It’s used to fill in the background and add depth: a “flea” santon at the back looks far away. See sizes.

R

Ravi

The best-known figure of the Provençal nativity: arms raised to heaven, mouth open in wonder. Long seen as the village simpleton, he’s better understood as the one overwhelmed with joy at the news. He’s traditionally placed near the stable, never hidden.

Ruines (ruins)

Broken columns and fallen arches in Neapolitan scenery: the Nativity is set right on the ruins of the ancient world. It carries a religious meaning as much as a decorative one.

S

Santibelli

Painted plaster figures sold by Italian street peddlers in the 19th century, often under a glass dome. The word comes from the Italian santi belli, “beautiful saints.” Cousins of santons, they weren’t part of the nativity but helped build a popular love of small painted statues.

Santon

From the Provençal santoun, “little saint.” A nativity figure, usually clay, molded and then painted by hand. Today the word covers the Holy Family as well as the miller or the fish seller. All about santons.

Santon habillé (dressed santon)

A santon dressed in real, sewn fabric, sometimes built on a wire frame. Taller, pricier and more fragile than the painted clay santon. See sizes.

Santonnier (santon maker)

The artisan who makes santons. It’s a craft that covers everything: sculpting, molding, firing, painting, and sometimes sewing. The craftspeople at work.

Szopka

The Kraków nativity: a tall, colorful miniature building made of cardboard and foil, borrowing from the city’s landmarks. Added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list in 2018. A good reminder that the nativity is a whole family of traditions, not just one object.

T

Tambourinaire (tambourin player)

A Provençal musician who plays the galoubet (a three-hole flute) with one hand and the tambourin drum with the other, at the same time. A popular santon, he plays the march to the stable.

Tió de Nadal

A Catalan log with a painted face that kids “feed” for weeks and then hit with sticks to make treats come out. It isn’t part of the nativity itself, but it shares the same spot in the home at the same time of year.

Temps de Noël (Christmas season)

In the Church calendar, the period from Christmas night to the Baptism of the Lord, the Sunday after Epiphany (in the U.S., sometimes the Monday after, when Epiphany falls on January 7 or 8). The Christmas season, day by day.

Theotokos

“Mother of God” in Greek: a title given to Mary by the Council of Ephesus, in 431. Mary.

V

Voussoir

Each of the wedge-shaped stones that make up an arch. The central voussoir is called the keystone: it locks the others and holds the whole together. A useful notion as soon as you build a bridge.